How one family’s loss led to a Syrian family’s home in Cape Breton

Before he died, a Baddeck man decided he wanted his house to become home to a Syrian refugee family

By Wendy Martin, CBC News Posted: Feb 18, 2018

Bill Fraser of Baddeck, N.S., passed away last month, but his empty house will now become a home for a Syrian family of six. (Submitted by Lorna Fraser)

 

Shortly before he entered a care facility a few months ago, Bill Fraser of Baddeck, N.S., was thinking of what might happen to his empty house.

“He said to me, ‘Lorna, what do you think of this family of Syrian refugees? Could that be a nice use of my home?'” recalled his sister, Lorna Fraser.

Bill Fraser thought he would eventually recover from ill health and return to Baddeck. But he died last month.

Now, his sister has arranged to lease his house and has donated most of its furnishings to a Syrian family of six who will arrive in the Cape Breton village later this spring.

 

The Esmaeels will soon arrive in Baddeck, N.S., from Jordan. (Submitted by Syria to Baddeck Committee)

 

“Out of sadness comes good things, sometimes,” said Jennifer MacDonald, a member of the Syria to Baddeck steering committee.

She said the committee had been looking for months for a suitable house, but there was little available in the community of 800.

Fraser’s house is ideal, she said, adding that it has three bedrooms and is within walking distance of the school and grocery store.

“It’s also avoided us having to do any sort of major furniture drive,” said MacDonald, “because the house is essentially move-in ready.”

 

Big relief to have living arrangements

The Syria to Baddeck committee began raising money in November 2015 to bring a family to the island. To date, the group has raised close to $40,000.

MacDonald said there have been a number of delays, due largely to a backlog in the private sponsorship refugee program.

 

Lorna Fraser says her brother Bill Fraser, pictured here, would be pleased that the Syrian family will be moving into his former home. (Submitted by Lorna Fraser)

 

• Frustration in Cape Breton village as backlog delays arrival of Syrian refugees

• Families who came to Cape Breton as refugees adapting to new home

The committee now expects the family, which includes four children between the ages of four and 14, to arrive in March or April.

MacDonald said it’s a big relief to know their living arrangements are in place.

A man ‘supportive of community’

Lorna Fraser said she believes her brother would be pleased with the outcome.

“He was very much supportive of community, and what community could do for you, and would really want to be helping this family.”

Article from:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/baddeck-home-syrian-family-bill-fraser-1.4539430

Syria Assad Regime Authorities Hit List Targets Children

Syria children are paying the heaviest price!

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad doing things for money is not a characteristic that’s unique to Syria. They are awarded when they ‘hit the correct targets”.

The Syrian crisis has been unique among the Arab Spring uprisings (and many other conflicts) in its deliberate targeting of children and the worst torture techniques are regularly used even on pre-teen children.

The question we all have to answer is why do we give him the freedom to implement this child-killing strategy?

War Child UK released, Syria: A War on Childhood, documenting how Assad’s forces take children from their parents, schools and communities and transfer these children to detention centers or military units for use as human shields. The children are brutally tortured, raped, and murdered. “Children and young people have been summarily massacred; illegally detained; sexual abused; used in combat; abducted and tortured; denied schooling and access to humanitarian aid; and deliberately targeted in violent attacks.”

Assad’s New Strategy: Nothing Makes People Flee Like Murdering Their Children
http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/2013/07/assads-new-strategy-nothing-makes.html

The most shocking thing was the deliberate killing of children
https://syrianfreedom.org/syria-the-most-shocking-thing-was-the-deliberate-killing-of-children

Children ‘may never recover’ from Syrian conflict

The bombing stop as she is death!

Assad: O Good! One more terrorist die!

Even if they escaped physical harm, it’s the images and sounds of war they can’t forget. Parents say children are suffering from flashbacks, sleeping troubles, bed-wetting, speech problems, feel isolated and unsafe; some have become aggressive or hyperactive, posttraumatic stress disorder, severe emotional disorders and others have grown more shy or unusually quiet.

Read more Articles: http://world.time.com/2013/11/28/tragedy-by-numbers-the-lasting-impact-of-war-on-syrias-children/

http://news.yahoo.com/un-39-unspeakable-suffering-39-syria-39-children-155121570.html

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=89377

#Syria #ASSAD #AssadCrimes #AssadWarcrimes #AssadGenocide #AssadHolocaust #syria_crisis #syria_conflict #syriacivilwar #torture #syrian_torture #syrian_refugees #childrenofsyria #Damascus #Aleppo